These funds are big, liquid, cheap and offer broad portfolios with thousands of securities each. Year-to-date, these hugely popular ETFs have ranked relatively low in total gains in a universe of 220-plus ETFs, delivering approximately 14% in the period.

That performance ranking includes leverage and inverse strategies, which tilts top gainers toward leveraged 2x and 3x bets. Still, broad strategies haven’t done as well some more focused strategies. Consider that the country-diverse Emerging Markets Internet & Ecommerce ETF (EMQQ)—a broad strategy focused on the technology sector—has delivered more than 31% in gains this year.

China ETFs Leading The Way

The best example of outsized gains relative to the giants is that more than a dozen China-focused ETFs have led performance charts this year, delivering more than twice the returns of IEMG and VWO. Buoyed by persistent hope that the multimonth U.S.-China trade war is coming to a resolution, Chinese equities have soared, making China the best-performing emerging market this year.

Coming into this week, all eyes were on the U.S.-China talks expected to take place in Washington, D.C.. that could lead to a trade deal by Friday.